#HSFT17: Stop No. 7 – Hamilton Lions

HAMILTON, Miss. (WCBI) — Hamilton looks to rebound this season. Hamilton drops to the Class 1-A South Division and looks to improve after missing playoffs the last two seasons.

It’s about pride for the Hamilton Lions football team this season.

Head Coach Josh Baty enters into his third year leading the program.

The Lions bring back eighteen starters, and the team is confident and focused with a different mindset heading into the season.

“The kids have a different attitude. They want to be here. They want to come out and get better. They want to be in the weight room, and that’s the biggest thing that I’ve seen with these kids is they want to be here,” said head coach Josh Baty.

“This is the year we have been building for. We’ve been building up for this year. My senior year. We’ve been saying it for years now that this was the year we are going to build. This is the year. We want to actually do something and succeed,” said senior Lane Stockman.

“I’m looking forward to getting back at it. Getting back into pads, getting ready, start going. Looking forward to facing the new teams we’re playing. Looking forward to doing the best we can and winning some games,” adds another teammate Grant Thompson.

The most important tool for the Lions this fall may be a road map. Hamilton moves to the Class 1-A South Division facing teams in Nanih Waiya, Noxapater, French Camp, and more.

The team says it’s going to be a new and a big challenge come fall.

“The biggest challenge is the new. With this new division, the most difficult thing is the not knowing. That’s the most difficult thing. We know they are talented. We know it’s a talented division. A talented group of kids, but the hardest thing for us is the not knowing is the unknown,” Baty said.

“This is teams we’ve never seen before. Guys we don’t know. Players like we’ve never seen before, but it’s a new challenge and I think we’re up for it. I think we are ready,” Stockman adds.

This year’s team hopes to set high standards and goals with enough depth to make a run to a playoff appearance.

“I look around. I see the talent. I see the chemistry and connections. Playoffs are a real ideal. It’s a reality. It’s not a goal. It’s a reality for us,” Stockman said.

“It would be great for us and the town. Showing that we got better, and us making the playoffs, and us coming back from two wins from last season,” adds senior teammate Carl Bailey.

Hamilton will open there season at home on August 18th against Houlka.